dlennox
07-24-2012, 11:01 PM
Housekeeping item first; forgot to mention that for this trip I got the Spot Locator/Messenger and am sending a check in and location to members of both families each day, they love it as they all can keep track of where we are. Day four started out with a cool 54 degrees as we left Lake Louise enroute the Jasper Natl Park on state road 93. This was a great road as the sightseeing started almost immediately as we left Lake Louise. The temperature dropped a little into the mid 40s and stayed there most of the day. Once again we were awstruck with the amazing beauty that surrounded us; from the majestic(no other word to descrie them) mountains to the vivid greens of the pines and the meadows all contrasted with the milky green of the streams,waterfalls and lakes and topped off withe the fresh snow on the mountain tops, truley breathtaking. We stopped several times to just look(sometimes we even took a picture or two but also realized that no one picture could ever convey what we saw and felt). About two thirds of the way through Jasper Natl Park on the IceField Parkway it started to rain and the mountains became shrouded in a mist that made everything sureal, kinda reminded me of the bible story of when Moses went up the mountain to talk with God and all the people saw was the cloud, again hard to explain or take a photo of. We stopped and put our rain gear on and I had the opportunity for another lesson: Don't leave your sweat shirt hood out side the rain gear it gets wet, real wet! And the rains came down, all the rivers were over flowing camp grounds were flooding and water was every where; this part of Alberta has had record amounts of snowfall and moisture that the ground can't hold it water is running off every piece of ground that slopes down. Well we had a minor break from the rain as we entered Jasper to gas up and have a late lunch; no camera shops in Jasper so off to Hinton via state road 16. On arriving in Hinton we found a Walmart that had a replacement camera (Thank You Russ). Then it was on to Grande Cache via state 40, this was a very nice scenic ride however the road was chewed up with potholes and frost heaves from all the snow pack and moisture and it rained and rained all the way. The good news is we didn't have much traffic to contend with as everyone else was smart enough to stay inside keeping warm and dry. Did I say that it rained? Even in the rain we could see the breathtaking beauty of our surroundings again only to be experienced from the back of a motorcyle for the full effect. Right now we're warm and dry at the Best Western in Grand Cache planning our ride for tomorrow. PS. Keeping the speeds down to the low 60s has brought my gas mileage up to a respectable 29.6/gal. All in all a great day.